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- The Financial Times reported Thursday that Microsoft — the frontrunner in talks to acquire TikTok's US operations — is interested in buying the app's entire global business.
- However, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider the report is "completely false."
- TikTok has more than 2.3 billion downloads globally. Reports have recently valued TikTok in its entirety between $30 billion to $50 billion.
- TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has been exploring a deal to sell off TikTok's US operations to get in front of threats from the Trump administration to ban the app over perceived national security risks due to its ties to China.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Microsoft is the frontrunner in a deal to acquire TikTok's US operations, but a recent report hints that the company could be looking at taking over the the viral app's entire global operations.
However, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider the report is "completely false."
The Financial Times reported Thursday morning that Microsoft has expressed interest in buying up all of TikTok's global operations. Previously, Microsoft publicly confirmed it was in negotiations to acquire TikTok's operations in four countries: the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Recent reports have pegged TikTok as a whole at a valuation between $30 billion and $50 billion. Microsoft could pay an estimated $10 billion to $30 billion to acquire its four-country cut of TikTok's business, according to CNBC.
TikTok has more than 2.3 billion downloads globally, including massive bases in India and Europe. TikTok, a product of Chinese parent company ByteDance, is not available in China: ByteDance runs a similar app there called Douyin, which the Financial Times reports would not be part of the deal.
Microsoft declined to comment. ByteDance did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
CNBC reported earlier this week that the two companies were looking to finish up acquisition talks within the next three weeks. However, the Financial Times' report could show that negotiations may not be as close to a deal as previously thought.
ByteDance is holding discussions with Microsoft and other US tech companies as it scrambles to find a buyer of its operations in the US. Microsoft has led TikTok acquisition talks since news broke Friday that Trump was weighing an executive order for ByteDance to "divest" TikTok's US operations.
President Donald Trump has given ByteDance until September 15 to hammer out a deal to sell TikTok's US operations. If ByteDance doesn't meet that deadline, Trump says he'll instate a nationwide ban on the app. despite questions about whether the president has the power to do so. It's unclear how the administration is planning to follow through on its threat, and experts recently told Business Insider that any move to ban the app raises concerns over freedom of speech issues and how such a ban would work in practice.
This story is developing. Check back for more updates ...
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See Also:
- Buying TikTok's US operations could reportedly cost Microsoft anywhere from $10 billion to $30 billion
- Trump risks playing into China's hands by demanding a US government cut of any Microsoft-TikTok deal
- The CEO of TikTok's parent firm says Trump's 'real objective' is to ban TikTok, not force a sale to Microsoft
SEE ALSO: No, Donald Trump can't 'ban' TikTok
